China Open: Unnati Hooda stuns PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag march into quarterfinals; HS Prannoy crashes out
TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Jul 24, 2025, 07.36 PM IST
In a defining moment for Indian badminton, 17-year-old Unnati Hooda pulled off a sensational upset by defeating two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu to enter the quarterfinals of the China Open Super 1000 in Changzhou on Thursday.
Facing Sindhu for only the second time in her career, the teenager from Rohtak showed remarkable composure in a tense three-game battle, eventually prevailing 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in 73 minutes. This is Hooda’s maiden quarterfinal appearance at a Super 1000 event.
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“I didn’t expect that I would win today,” Hooda admitted after the match. “I came in thinking I will give my all, and I’m happy I was able to win. It was a very tough match for me.”
Sindhu, who last lost to an Indian in an international event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games final, acknowledged Hooda's performance. “It was hard to control the shuttle. She took the lead in the third game and maintained it. I wish her all the best,” Sindhu said, as quoted by PTI.
Hooda, who has Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will next face Japan’s third seed and two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the quarterfinals with a gritty 21-19, 21-19 win over Indonesia’s eighth-seeded duo Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana.
“It was quite a topsy-turvy match,” Chirag said. “We finally had that breakthrough around 16-all in the first game. In the second, we should have been a bit calmer, but we’re happy with the win.”
The Indians came from behind in both games, turning around deficits of 14-16 in the first and 10-14 in the second to close out the match in straight games.
Meanwhile, in men's singles, HS Prannoy exited the tournament after a 21-18, 15-21, 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought second-round clash that lasted 65 minutes.
Facing Sindhu for only the second time in her career, the teenager from Rohtak showed remarkable composure in a tense three-game battle, eventually prevailing 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in 73 minutes. This is Hooda’s maiden quarterfinal appearance at a Super 1000 event.
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“I didn’t expect that I would win today,” Hooda admitted after the match. “I came in thinking I will give my all, and I’m happy I was able to win. It was a very tough match for me.”
Sindhu, who last lost to an Indian in an international event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games final, acknowledged Hooda's performance. “It was hard to control the shuttle. She took the lead in the third game and maintained it. I wish her all the best,” Sindhu said, as quoted by PTI.
Hooda, who has Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will next face Japan’s third seed and two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the quarterfinals with a gritty 21-19, 21-19 win over Indonesia’s eighth-seeded duo Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana.
“It was quite a topsy-turvy match,” Chirag said. “We finally had that breakthrough around 16-all in the first game. In the second, we should have been a bit calmer, but we’re happy with the win.”
The Indians came from behind in both games, turning around deficits of 14-16 in the first and 10-14 in the second to close out the match in straight games.
Meanwhile, in men's singles, HS Prannoy exited the tournament after a 21-18, 15-21, 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought second-round clash that lasted 65 minutes.